EVENING. Business.

Judge Requires Unitrin To Release Documents To American General

The takeover battle for Unitrin Inc. heated up Friday after a judge in Delaware ruled that American General Corp. is entitled to review part of the insurer's game plan for fending off a hostile bid.

American General and Unitrin, a Chicago-based insurer that has spurned its $2.6 billion takeover offer, are preparing to square off in a court hearing Sept. 23 in Georgetown, Del. American General, a Houston-based insurer, is seeking a court order forcing Unitrin to drop its takeover defenses and negotiate a merger.

Delaware Chancery Court Judge William B. Chandler ruled late Thursday that Unitrin must turn over to American General documents presented to Unitrin's board by investment banker Morgan Stanley & Co. in the wake of American General's offer. The papers outline Unitrin's "strategic alternatives" to the bid. One of those alternatives was a stock repurchase, which Unitrin adopted. That buyback of 10 million shares (19 percent of the total outstanding) was halted by the court pending the hearing.

Unitrin has refused to produce all the Morgan Stanley papers, citing the so-called "business strategy privilege," which puts deliberations off-limits to opposing litigants. In court filings, Unitrin said disclosure of its strategizing would unfairly "handicap" it in the takeover fight.